Chapter Text
“What a show.”
Josh tries his best to be as casual as possible, changing his voice so it sounds a bit lower than usual. He lets out a happy sigh before pressing his lips together.
“I guess. You slipped up halfway through the fourth song.” Tyler looks down and then back up at Josh.
“I didn’t notice.” Josh ensures his tone sounds guilty, purposefully looking towards the door before returning to Tyler.
“Yes, you did. You have to do better than that.” Tyler is way more stern than what the scene calls for. But it works for him—a certain kind of assuredness that Josh swears he doesn’t envy. “I know you, and I can tell when you’re lying to me.”
Josh’s heart actually flips, as if this is real. Tyler’s mannerisms and vocal tones are so… different than Josh is used to. Not that he knows Tyler very well.
“Sorry, Robbie.” Josh exhales through his nose, “I’m still getting used to the bigger crowds.”
“You have to do better next time, Will,” Tyler says.
Josh licks his lips and takes a sharp breath in, “I don’t think you have much room to talk. I heard your voice crack on the last song.”
“Whoa.” Tyler bitterly laughs, stepping closer to Josh, dropping his script to the ground. He’s probably read this with enough people that he doesn’t need it anymore.
Show off.
“I’m just saying. We’re… we’re a team, Robbie. If I have to do better, s-so do you. Only f-fair, you know?” Josh intentionally stammers his words, setting his script by his side and gripping it tightly. He doesn’t exactly remember the next line, but he knows this scene needs to be full of tension.
This feels less like a “chemistry test-reading” and more like a second audition. Tyler knows everything by heart and Josh is struggling to keep up. But he doesn’t back down. He can sense Tyler’s attempts at intimidation and isn’t going to give in.
It’s unclear to Josh whether this is Tyler Joseph acting this way to Josh Dun, or if it’s “Robbie” towards “Will.” But something about it feels so natural. Josh barely feels like he’s acting, because Tyler is actually generating a reaction in Josh’s body.
Josh already went through the solo audition process. They told him he has “the perfect aura” for Will, but they had to test him with Tyler Joseph first. Part of him thinks it’s pointless—if they were so impressed by Josh’s initial performance, then it shouldn’t really matter how much “chemistry” they have together. If they end up falling flat, then maybe Tyler isn’t the one for the role.
However, the other part of Josh knows how ridiculous that sounds. No one in their right mind would kick an actor like Tyler off a show just because a first read with his potential costar didn’t go perfectly. Josh knows Tyler has read with other people before him, so clearly they’re trying to work everything around him.
“Will… I’ve never heard you speak like that before.” Tyler steps even closer. Josh immediately drops his script so his hands are free. It’s then that he realizes, when the cold air hits his hand, his palms are sweaty.
“I’m tired of you always bossing me around.” Josh takes in a deep breath and hesitates. A single foot moves on its own, threatening to step back. He’s not sure that’s the right line.
Tyler shoots him a look that’s definitely not in the script. Okay, so that wasn’t the correct line. But Tyler doesn’t falter—his glare is wiped in a matter of seconds, resetting himself and meeting Josh where he left off without missing a beat.
“Maybe I wouldn’t have to boss you around so much if you kept up.” Tyler gets back into his character’s voice and swipes something imaginary off of Josh’s shirt.
Josh puffs his chest up slightly, portraying false confidence that doesn’t really feel like acting anymore. “I can keep up just fine.”
“Can you?” Tyler flutters his eyelashes. Josh swears he can feel his heartbeat in his fingertips. “Am I going to have to just test you on that?”
“Maybe you should.”
His voice somehow gets even deeper, it almost startles him coming out of his mouth. He wasn’t really trying to do it—or maybe he was, and he just didn’t notice. Like it’s some kind of acting skill he spontaneously learned.
Something in Tyler’s expression shifts. It’s minute, practically invisible to the untrained eye. But damn, is it effective.
“Are you aware of what you’re saying?” Tyler’s index finger lands on Josh’s chest. He slowly drags it up until it’s touching the stubble on Josh’s chin.
This is not in the script. Josh would have remembered that. This feels more intimate, somehow. Josh ran through what he could remember of the script in his head; there’s dialogue and basic emotional cues, but a significant lack of action. Tyler’s going off-book.
“Yes,” Josh says, staring defiantly into Tyler’s eyes.
Josh can tell that Tyler is trying harder than any normal person should to keep eye contact. It’s unsettling. It leaves the hairs on the back of Josh’s neck standing on end and a spark of warmth in his lower belly.
And then someone clears their throat.
“Wow.” It’s Mark, the director. “That’s great, guys. Really great.”
Tyler immediately drops his hand but stays close. His intense eyes soften and his lips curl into a smile.
“I knew he could do it.” Tyler pats Josh’s cheek lightly. Josh can’t tell if Tyler’s patronizing him, or if he’s actually being genuine. Either way, the contact feels strange, and lingers long after Tyler retracts his hand.
“I’m almost speechless,” Mark flips through a few more pages of the script. Josh honestly expected that they’d need to test out at least a few more pages—they barely got past two.
Josh returns the smile and steps back, “You, uh, got pretty intense there.”
“You did too! That was cool, dude. Tyler, by the way. I feel like you probably knew that already, but it’s rude not to introduce myself.” Tyler extends his hand.
Josh shakes it, praying to God that his hands aren’t too clammy, “Josh.”
“Josh Dun. Done and Dun.”
“I guess so. We have met once before, but it was a while ago and I didn’t have as much hair.” Josh laughs at the joke, forgetting there are four other people in the room with them.
“Right… right. Oh yeah! You were on that thing! And we uh, met at the uh…” Tyler absolutely does not remember Josh, but at least he’s trying to be polite.
“Movie premiere. In LA.”
Tyler snaps his fingers and points back at him. “That’s right.”
There’s a beat of silence, and Tyler stares back at Josh like he’s still trying to place him. Or pick him apart piece by piece, get his guard down before dumping him out on the street like an unwanted dog.
Josh knows it wasn’t his best performance by any means. Not that it was pitiful, but he’s certainly done better. He’s not sure what’s gotten into him—it’s just a chemistry read, for fuck’s sake. There were twice as many people in the room for the initial audition.
And “nervous” isn’t even the right word for it. It’s something else entirely, something he’s not sure he’s felt before in all of his years in acting. Something thicker, but not nearly as menacing.
This would be his biggest role to date. That is, if he were to get it—and after their reading, he’s not exactly hopeful.
With his hands on his hips and one last look up and down Josh’s frame, another smile creeps across Tyler’s face, marginally more wicked this time.
“He’s the one.”
Oh. That’s… definitely better than he was expecting.
And while Josh may be an actor, hiding his surprise feels like a herculean task. His eyes damn-near pop out of his head, mouth agape before uttering a squeaky “Really?”
Tyler opens his mouth as if he wants to reply, but he’s beaten to the punch.
“You know you don’t get the final say, right?” Mark says, peering at him over his glasses as he’s paused the quick scribble of his pen on a notepad.
Tyler rolls his eyes dramatically. “Oh, come on, Mark. It’s Josh Dun. He’ll be great.”
If Josh was surprised before, he’s gobsmacked at that statement. Just minutes ago, Tyler seemed like he’d never heard of Josh in his entire life. And now, he’s talking about him as if they’re not in the same room, as if Josh is a household name.
Is Tyler mocking him for being a smaller actor?
Josh can work with it, if it means instilling a bit more confidence in himself as an actor. If Tyler is making fun of him, no one else in the room seems to pick up on it.
“Not sure what that’s supposed to mean.” Mark stares down at his notes, his nostrils flaring in frustration.
“You know what it means, Mark.” Tyler walks over to him. His eyes move rapidly back and forth. His face scrunches in a devilish smile and he points at a random part of the page that Josh can’t see. He can’t be nosy. He wants to so, so badly. He’s always curious about what people think of him.
And he certainly did his best to avoid looking over at the table of people watching them perform earlier. If he cares too much about the eyes on him, he’d never do well in this profession; at least, that’s what his teachers always told him.
But Josh wants to know what that notepad says. He wants to know what Tyler pointed at. He wants to know why Mark immediately closed his eyes.
“Do you really want to go through testing another person? Do you want to go down the list and call some random and get him down here? Especially when I’ve made my choice. None of the guys I’ve read with so far have made my heart actually stop like this guy has. He’s perfect. I’m telling you. He’s the one,” Tyler explains as if Josh wasn’t still standing still right in front of them.
It’s like Tyler has Mark wrapped around his finger. Mark sighs once more and sets the pencil down. He looks up at Josh, who has tried to keep his face straight while the other two openly discuss his talents.
“I think you’d be perfect for the role, Josh. I knew a while ago, but seeing how you interact with Tyler just makes sense,” Mark says, his body language changing completely. He’s smiling, but that slight pettiness towards Tyler still remains.
It’s subtle, but Josh learned to read small changes in demeanor before he ever took acting classes. His parents were strict, so much so that Josh usually had to walk on eggshells.
He couldn’t listen to music, couldn’t go out, and couldn’t speak up. The slightest twitch of his father’s lip made him tense up.
So, Josh had to quickly learn how to decipher someone’s mood.
But even then, he’s not really sure how to take Tyler Joseph.
“That’s what I just said.” Tyler rolls his head back to be overdramatic.
“Is it?” Mark doesn’t look at Tyler. “We’ll definitely be in touch, Josh.”
Josh smiles, offering a curt nod. “Sounds good. Thank you.”
Mark and the rest of the crew that watched the reading slowly shuffle out of the room, leaving Josh and Tyler to gather their belongings before heading out.
It’s silent as they do, almost uncomfortably so. Josh tugs his sweatshirt he discarded for the reading over his head and takes a breath. He assumes Tyler would have left by now. Not that Josh thinks negatively of him, but he seems like the type of guy who needs to be in a rush. Yet, Tyler is taking his time as he collects a few things off of the table.
Josh hates quiet moments like this. They make his skin crawl, because awkward silence does nothing but thicken the air. Every breath feels loud, like a glass vase crashing. Josh has to be an idiot to be so silent around someone he’s going to have to spend a lot of time getting very comfortable with.
He isn’t star-struck by any means. He’s met plenty of actors much bigger and better than Tyler Joseph. But he’s not sure what he’s supposed to do around him. Is he supposed to talk about how he watched Tyler on TV while he was in his sophomore year of college?
It was a pretty major “teen” show, and Tyler was a series regular. Josh didn’t exactly love the show, but it was something his roommate would put on as mindless background noise while he smoked. It was just a simple show about teenagers in a high school that was a carbon copy of the rest of them.
He hated Tyler’s character, but respected him enough as an actor. He had been in quite a few roles and always seemed to put his all into it. Josh hadn’t seen everything, but he did take the time to watch a few movies and TV episodes to prepare for the role just to get Tyler’s vibe.
And from all that preparation, Josh really only learned one thing: Tyler isn’t easy to read.
He always seemed… faker than most in interviews. Josh also watched a few of those last night to get a better understanding of him as a person instead of just as an actor. Tyler was always polite in them. But there was always a look behind his eyes that made him seem somewhat ingenuine. He’d be smiling, but Josh could tell he wanted nothing to do with the person talking to him.
Josh eventually breaks out of his long train of thought. And it looks like Tyler was equally as lost in his own head, because they’ve both been still for… who knows how long.
He can feel Tyler’s eyes on him as he smooths out the wrinkles of his hoodie. He purposefully doesn’t look back—the mere thought of having to scramble for something to say once their eyes meet makes him nauseous.
But this is getting ridiculous, and if this is how they’re going to act during filming, they’ll get nowhere fast. Josh has to break the tension.
“You guys seem close,” he blurts, immediately regretting opening his mouth. His first time talking to his co-star one-on-one, and that’s what he comes up with?
Tyler snaps out of it and slings a bag over his shoulder and smiles. “Oh, yeah. Best friends in high school.”
Josh frowns. “Not anymore?”
“No, it’s not like that,” Tyler says with a sigh. “I just got busy. Y’know, with the whole… acting stuff.”
“Gotcha.”
Tyler nods. They stay like that for a few moments, standing in the empty room, unsure how to proceed. Until Tyler gestures with his hand, a wordless after you, and Josh makes towards the exit with Tyler in tow. Josh holds the door open for him, and Tyler shows his appreciation with a small smile before they walk side-by-side down the hall.
The hallway extends and appears to grow longer and longer as Josh feels the cold air between them again.
How is he supposed to act next to this guy when they can’t even speak to each other? Josh has no idea what to say. The one time he tried to start something just turned into more empty space.
“So,” Tyler finally breaks the quiet, eyes glued to the floor. “You excited?”
“Yeah. Really excited.”
Tyler nods. “Good. Me too.”
Another stretch of quiet. The soft clicks of their shoes echo down the long hallway. Josh chews on the inside of his cheek, praying for this walk to be over already.
Does it ever end? Or is Josh going to be stuck in this limbo with a man he doesn’t know?
“I think, uh-” Josh stops himself, shaking his head. “Never mind. I don’t know what I was going to say there.”
Tyler only lets out a dry chuckle in response.
Cool.
The door looks a mile away. Was the hallway this long when he got here?
Tyler opens his mouth a few times as if he wants to say something, but never does until the fourth attempt.
“Can I tell you a secret?”
Josh shrugs and nods. “Yeah, sure.”
It’s not like he has much of a choice. This could go anywhere, and Josh is forced by societal norms to listen to it. Josh was taught to be nice, and it would be rude to say no.
Tyler stops dead in his tracks in the middle of the empty hallway. He runs his hand across the strap of his bag a couple times, clearly overthinking what he was about to say. A light flickers above them and Josh’s hands feel damp again. Josh pauses too.
“I’ve never, uh, had sex on-screen before,” Tyler admits, his voice considerably meeker than Josh has ever heard from him before.
“That’s not true,” Josh says immediately. “That one movie where you’re a girl’s rock bottom—you definitely had on-screen sex with her.”
“Nope,” Tyler shakes his head, “that doesn’t count. It was from the chest up. And the scene was really short, and from behind. We barely even touched or kissed for that scene.”
“Still counts,” Josh points out, tilting his head down with his eyebrows up. This guy cannot be serious. That absolutely counts.
“Hmm, nope. Doesn’t count. We didn’t even need an intimacy coordinator for it. Josh, you do realize the type of scenes we’re going to have together, right?” There’s a grin forming on Tyler’s face. Josh unknowingly sets his foot back a step; his heart is not too fond of the look on his face.
“I know, I’ve read the book.”
He skimmed through it with the time he had, at least. The scenes between Robbie and Will are… exceptionally graphic.
“Oh, so then you know exactly what we have in store for us. But I’m glad it’s you. You look exactly like I imagine Will would look like. You just… fit everything he’s supposed to be perfectly.”
Josh looks at the door, which feels so much closer now, and then back at Tyler. He’s not sure what to do with that statement.
The heaviness in the air isn’t gone, but it has definitely receded. The admission feels somehow significant, at least on Tyler’s end. Frankly, Josh couldn’t give a shit whether Tyler’s had sex on screen before. They have plenty of time during production to get it figured out, and you can’t exactly be an actor and a slow learner.
But Tyler certainly seemed awkward saying it, and felt comfortable enough to be vulnerable with someone who he just met for the first time. Well, at least in his mind.
It doesn’t exactly change Josh’s opinion of him, but it doesn’t hurt it.
And now, the space feels different, with the divulgence just hanging between them. Josh feels the need to even the playing field, for both of their sakes.
“If it makes you feel any better,” Josh says, looking down at the floor with his hands in his pockets, “I’ve never kissed a man before.”
The speed and magnitude at which Tyler whips his head over to Josh must have been so great, because Josh swears he can hear it.
“What?”
Josh’s eyes widen in shock. “I don’t know. Just haven’t been in a role that requires it, I guess.”
“Well, sure, but—” Tyler stops, thinking for a moment before looking back at Josh with more disbelief. “But, like, never? Not even as a dare or something?”
Josh shrugs and looks back up at Tyler, “Never came up.”
“Feels the same as kissing a girl. Maybe a little different, depending on if the guy’s got a beard. It’s not much of a big deal, you know? But I’d think someone like you would have kissed a man in some way by now.” Tyler leans back against the wall again, his arms crossed and his lips still stuck in that smile.
Josh visibly flinches. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing!”
“I’m not gay.”
Tyler raises his hands up in mock defense. “Hey, neither am I!”
That leaves a bad taste in Josh’s mouth. He doesn’t think he seems gay at all. He’s not, and he’s very comfortable with his sexuality, but he would prefer it if people didn’t immediately think or assume he’s gay.
Is it his soft-spoken voice? Or did Tyler just assume because he auditioned for a very gay role that Josh is into men?
What else could Tyler think of him?
“When would you have kissed a guy? I don’t think you’ve played a gay character before.” Josh goes with the safest response to Tyler’s comment.
“Drama school,” Tyler says, “I’ve played a girl, or did a scene where I had to kiss a man. I also played a bisexual guy in a movie last year. Can’t believe you haven’t seen it.”
Josh furrows his brows together at him. This industry is full of big egos, Josh knows it first hand. But he was hoping Tyler wouldn’t be like that—expecting everyone and their mother to have watched every single thing he’s been in.
“I haven’t seen every single thing you’ve been in. Have you seen everything I’ve been in?”
Tyler doesn’t reply to that.
“So, you’re going to star in a graphic gay show, and you’ve never even kissed a man?” Tyler stands up straight from the wall and takes a step towards Josh.
“No,” Josh confirms, clearing his throat and watching Tyler as he gets closer and closer. “I mean, you said it’s not a big deal, so what does it matter—”
Josh is suddenly interrupted by a confident hand landing on the back of his neck. Tyler doesn’t even give him a second to process it before he’s pulling Josh in and meeting him halfway.
The first press of their lips is harsh, the force of it just shy of painful. Tyler is quick to take control, molding the pace into something a little more sensual than their initial collision. Josh tries to kiss back with equal fervor, though he’s not entirely sure why—this is clearly just a demonstration.
If anything, Josh was expecting something a little more chaste; maybe a peck or two. But Tyler doesn’t let up, so Josh doesn’t either.
The first scratch of Tyler’s stubble against Josh’s chin is startling. It burns, even after their heads have tilted and the angle has changed. But Josh is finding he doesn’t seem to mind it.
With one last sustained drag of Tyler’s slightly chapped lips, he finally pulls back, letting the hand that had been firmly holding the back of Josh’s neck fall back by his side. He’s got a stupid grin on his face, one that Josh is sure he won’t be able to forget any time soon.
“See?” Tyler says, taking a few steps back towards the door, still facing Josh. “Not a big deal.”
Then, he turns, pulling his hood up over his head and walking out the door. Leaving Josh, whose feet are still cemented to where he stands, dumbfounded and mouth agape in shock.